Dr James Hanrahan is the director of the UNWTO Atlantic Sustainable Tourism Observatory Ireland and STORYATU. He has been a Sustainable tourism lecturer and researcher at ATU for over 20 years. He has lectured in higher education across Ireland, New Zealand, Hawaii, Bulgaria, California, and Britain. One of James key strengths is postgraduate supervision and he has supervised many PhDs to completion in wide range of topics such as: sustainable tourism management, sustainable tourism indicators, measuring and monitoring tourism carbon footprint, tourism entrepreneurship, event management and biosecurity. Currently he is supervising PhDs in sustainable tourism and AI, supply chain management, circular tourism and smart digital solutions for net zero destinations. James has worked on many European-funded projects including the Interreg Atlantic Areas project on Polycentric Tourism and the Interreg Europe project on Tourism as a Service: a 360 tourism experience. Prior to his academic career he worked as a tour guide, tour operator, tourism manager and, tourism consultant.

My principal research interests centre on how sustainable tourism development and destination management can foster resilient, community-focused futures. I explore the social impacts of tourism both the opportunities and challenges it presents for local communities, while examining how circular-economy approaches can enhance resource efficiency, reduce waste, and support long-term destination wellbeing. My work also considers how biosecurity practices and smart, digital solutions can strengthen the social, environmental, and economic benefits that tourism brings. A core focus is understanding how evidence-based planning, stakeholder collaboration, and integrated policy can enable tourism systems that are more inclusive, equitable, and supportive of thriving communities and healthy environments.

Teaching Profile

I have taught and led a wide range of modules across tourism, sustainability, and events at ATU. My teaching focuses on developing students’ analytical, strategic, and applied skills in tourism development, environmental management, and sustainability. The modules I have delivered include: Globalisation and Tourism, Strategic Tourism, Promotion Technology, Ecotourism, Impacts of Tourism, Sustainable Tourism and Event Impact Management, Sustainable Tourism and Event Measuring and Monitoring

My teaching approach integrates real-world case studies, sustainability frameworks, and data-driven analysis to support student engagement with contemporary issues in tourism and destination development.

Research Supervision

I have supervised numerous PhD researchers to completion since 2008 and am currently supervising six PhD postgraduate students across sustainable tourism, decarbonisation, digital transformation, and destination management. Current PhD projects include:

• An analysis of the Irish hotel sector’s sustainable operations in the context of Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and Service Automation (RAISA).

• Measuring and monitoring resource efficiency and emissions in Irish hotels, with a focus on supply chain management solutions.

• Assessing the carbon footprint of Irish tourism and developing a stakeholder-based decarbonisation toolkit.

• Sustainable Tourism Destination Management and GIS mapping, utilising the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS).

• Sustainable Destination Management for Island Tourism, with an emphasis on measuring and monitoring using tourism indicators.

• Addressing climate action in Irish hospitality through the adoption of a digitalised roadmap within SMTE Communities of Practice.

These projects collectively reflect my broader research agenda in sustainability transitions, evidence-based destination planning, technological innovation, and climate-action strategies within tourism and hospitality.